PARLIAMENT hopefuls set to take on George Osborne in the next general election have joined forces to grill him over expenses.

Prospective parliamentary candidates Richard Jackson, for Labour, and Liberal Democrat Craig Browne, have got together to draft an open letter to the Tatton MP, following last week’s controversy over his "flipped" second home.

The pair are calling for the shadow chancellor to be "open and accountable" to his constituents.

Mr Osborne has denied any wrongdoing after claims he cashed in from redesignating his Rainow farmhouse as his second home.

The "flip" from his London residence happened when he took a mortgage on the farmhouse and used second home expenses to cover the repayments - to the tune of £100,000.

But the pair, who will contest Mr Osborne’s seat, say his claim that he acted "on the advice of the House of Commons fees office" just doesn’t wash.

Mr Jackson said: "It’s no good saying he went by the rules, he should explain his expenses fully to his constituents. This is the first time Craig and I have joined forces like this but we thought it was too important. There are questions that George hasn’t answered. He has to answer to his constituents and David Cameron has been very clear about that."

Mr Browne added: "I’m asking for George Osborne to be open and accountable about his expenses. This is a cross party issue, it’s doing politicians in general no favours in the eyes of the public, it’s wider than just responding to our letter. I would call for George to have a public meeting so constituents can question him about expenses."

A copy of the letter has been sent to Mr Osborne’s office.

Mr Osborne said: "This is a highly partisan attack by my Labour and Liberal Democrat opponents, motivated by party political considerations. It is particularly hypocritical coming from the Labour Party given everything we have read about Labour MPs recently - including the behaviour of my Labour opposite number, Alistair Darling. The sad thing is that neither the Labour nor Liberal candidates have ever raised with me issues that genuinely affect people living in the Tatton constituency - I once spoke to the Labour candidate to ask him if there was anything he could do to stop his Labour government from closing local post offices, but nothing happened and many of our community post offices have closed.

"When it comes to my own expenses, I have always been open and answered any question that genuine constituents have asked me. I've given interviews to local newspapers and called my own public meetings. I have explained clearly that I bought my home in Cheshire by extending a mortgage on the home I already owned in London before I became an MP, and that I changed that to a separate mortgage on the Cheshire home as soon as I could in 2003".

"In those initial two years in Parliament I only ever claimed allowances against that portion of the interest-only mortgage used to buy the home in Cheshire and never against the portion used to buy the home in London - and I have explained this openly to anyone who has ever asked and at all times followed the advice I was given".

"I can't help noting that the Daily Telegraph, in the big compilation it produced on expenses this week, described my designated second home claims as ‘relatively straightforward’."